Display box and package for laces



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet, 1. J. E. LEB.

DISPLAY BOX AND PACKAGE POR LAGES.

No. 321,731. Patented July '7, `1885.

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J. E. LEE.

DISPLAY, BOX AND PACKAGE FOR LAGBS.

YPaened July 7, l885.

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J. EDWARD LEE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DISPLAY BOX AND PACKAGE FOR LACES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 321,731, dated July 7, 1885.

Application filed September 10, 1F84. (No model.) Patented in England November 19, 18.211, No 15,109..

To all wwm it may concern:

Be it known that l, J. EDWARD LEE, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Display Boxes and Packages for Laces, of which the following is hereby declared to be a full, clear, and exact descriptio'n.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, like letters of reference denote like parts throughout.

Figure 1 is a perspective View of the boxlid, and Fig. 2 a similar view of the box-body, Fig. 3, a longitudinal, and Fig. 4c a transverse vertical section through the box,with the lid applied thereto; Fig. 5, a perspective view of a modified form of the box.

My invention is designed to replace the ordinary type of box and package used by retail dealers to contain laces, Hamburg edgings and like delicate fabrics, which by exposure or frequent handling, especially in localities where soft coal is burned, become rapidly soiled and unsalable. It is well known to the trade that the losses incurred for want of proper protection to such goods while on the shelves of the retail dealer amount annually to many thousands of dollars.

To provide against this unnecessary waste of costly fabrics, and to furnish a neat form of display and box-package in which such goods can be conveniently kept, and from which they can be taken quickly in desired quantity,with least exposure or waste, is the object of my invention. In the practice thereof I proceed substantially as follows: rllhe box-body a, made of pasteboard or other suitable material in usual way, can be of any convenient dimensions, though in length it is preferably some fraction of a yard, such as nine or eighteen inches. The end, as at a, may be hinged to the box-body a, and thus form a iiap which can be thrown down, as shown, to expose the ends of the fabric. The fabric, instead of being Wound over a card or in a roll about a former and then stored in the box, as usual, should be laid in loose folds back and forth, as shown, directly in the box. The box being of known length enables the dealer, on throwing down the flap a and counting the layers as exposed, to determine at once the quantity of fabric in stock.

The soiling of the goods and the delay as well in reeling off and measuring the same and then rerolling, which are necessarily incurred under the old practice in taking inventory'or at other times, is by the simple expedient detailed entirely obviated. One or more divisioniiaps, as at ai, may be hinged to the bottom of the box, and can be used to separate different kinds of goods when the quantity of each is too small to require distinct boxes. By turning down said flaps flat against the bottom of the box, the entire space becomes available to store wider fabrics or to receive larger quantities of a single kind. The lid b of the box snugly incloses the same, and along the sides of its outer face is provided with the guidestrips b', which receive and retain the ends of the slide b2. This flexible slide b2 may carry a sample of the fabric thereon, as at l, and is adapted to cover the slit 2 cut in the top of the lid. Through.the slit 2 protrudes the free end of the fabric, which may be drawn thereby from the box in quantity as desired, the manner in which the fabric is laid-that is, in superposed loose folds-permitting this withdrawal to occur without need of removing the lid or of handling the delicate goods. By this expedient the material is preserved fresh and clean for a far longer period than the old methods of packing heretofore in vogue would allow. lf too much of the fabric be drawn at anyone time the lid is taken off and the excess relaid or refolded without disturbing the main portion of the stock. Vhen not in use, the slide b2 is slipped down to cover the slit 2, effectually excluding the dust at the same time that a sample of the goods is exposed on said slide. In shipment the slide may be easily drawn from its guides, turned over and reinserted, thus protecting the sample and covering the slit 2 as well. In some kinds of goods laid in loose superposed layers, as proposed, the upper folds are apt to adhere or to catch; hence to prevent disarrangement or tearing there is provided at some convenient point a cord or the like, as at 3,whieh may be attached to the lid and be received in notches 4 of the box, so

as to permit the tight fitting of the lid. Over this cord 3, and between it and the lid, is led the free end of the fabric prior to thrusting the same through the slit 2, by which simple I GO means the separation of successive layers is effected, during the drawing operation, Without risk of disarrangeinent. By locating the slit 2 in the vertical end of the box-body, and near the bottoni, as shown in Fig. 5, the fabric can be drawn equally Well from the under layers, instead of from the upper, as already detailed, dispensing with the guide-cord 3 and also with the slide b2, if desired. Vhen thus arranged, the lid ofthe box, in lieu of the slide b2, may serve directly for the display of the sample, several of the upper folds of the fabric being wound through and about the slits 4 of the lid, as shown,whilc the iap, as at b4, serves to protect the sample from dirt. Flap b may be conveniently attached at one edge to the box-lid, and be tucked into the space beneath stri p b to lie snug and fiat against the sample. Elastic cords, as at b, fasten over the hooks 6 ofthe lid, and hold the saine in place. Other forms of fastening device may be used; and it is obvious that the slit 2, instead of being on the end, may be located on the side of either the box or lid, as desired. This would be nec-A essary with Wide fabrics, and would merely require the laying of the folds in the package so as to conform to the new location of the slit.

Minor changes, within the skill of the incehanic to effect, can be made without departing from the invention, which is not confined to the precise details herein set forth.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A display and shipping package for laces and like fabrics, the same consisting of a boxbody proper, wherein the fabric is arranged in loose supcrposed layers, a lid for said box having parallel guide-strips and a slit through which the loose end of the fabric may be drawn, and a slide removably retained by said strips, and designed to cover the slit, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the box-body a, having end flap, a', of the lid b, having guidestrips b', slide b2, slit 2, and cord 3, said slit and oord being adapted to retain the free end of the fabric to be stored in the box in loose superposed folds or layers, substantially as described.

J. EDVARD LEE.

Witnesses:

JAMEs H. PEIRCE, LEONHARD IIoLMBon. 

